


blood bleeds red/i'll never get real

by evantheworm



Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst with a Happy Ending, Early 2000s AU, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Family Dynamics, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Non-Graphic Descriptions of Violence, Rated teen for swearing, Sleepy Bois Inc as Family, Twins Wilbur Soot & Technoblade, Wilbur Soot and Technoblade and TommyInnit are Siblings, and family issues, bad is here but he is only mentioned, cw for mentions of blood, ending can be seen as bittersweet, self-deprecating thoughts, tommy and the twins are like 3 ish years apart in this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-17
Updated: 2021-01-17
Packaged: 2021-03-14 20:06:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,201
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28801047
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/evantheworm/pseuds/evantheworm
Summary: Life happens so fast, too fast. It leaves you wondering when everyone you love left you in the dust. Tommy just wanted to be a kid again. He just wanted to spend time with his brothers. He guessed he would just have to make do with the local record shop.
Relationships: Clay | Dream & TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Toby Smith | Tubbo & TommyInnit, Wilbur Soot & Technoblade & TommyInnit & Phil Watson
Comments: 19
Kudos: 232





	blood bleeds red/i'll never get real

**Author's Note:**

  * For [illusorx](https://archiveofourown.org/users/illusorx/gifts).



> hey guys I am back with more sbi food! this one is an early 2000s au inspired by discord father getting me hooked on the song pristine by snail mail. this one is over 5k which is absolutely insane, my longest fic ever. i worked really hard so i hope that shows through and you all enjoy it. i also made a playlist for the fic which you can listen to here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6FssdDnLdnyNn5O2vKvw0V?si=LizWetyWSAKOej6R0ZPwAg  
> thank you for reading! enjoy <333  
> also I forgot to say when this was posted but this is betaed!!!! my amazing wonderful friend was my beta and it wouldn't be nearly as good without her help  
> 
> 
> Disclaimer: Please be respectful. Don't ship minors! As always, if any of the cc's express discomfort with these types of fics i will take this down.

Tommy kicked a rock down the sidewalk as the tell-tale chill of autumn breeze ruffled his hair. His older brother’s red varsity jacket hung off his shoulders, just slightly too big for him. It used to be remarkably oversized, but time changes things. He’d grown into it just like he’d grown into his lanky limbs and shaggy blond hair. He knew Phil saw it, in the looks he gave him when he thought Tommy wasn’t looking. He knew Wilbur did too; the ruffles to his hair, on the occasions that Wilbur still came around, that held so much more than just a brotherly tease. 

Everything was changing far too fast for Tommy’s liking. He sighed and leaned his head back, closing his eyes and letting the wind blow over him. The walk home from school was always a delight nowadays; he used to drive to and from with Wil and Techno. Then Phil dropped him off and he walked home with Tubbo. Now he takes the bus, Phil has work, and he walks alone, Tubbo had tech club. Tommy didn’t mind, life got busy, he knew that well enough. It just took some reminding that everyone still cared about him. 

It always lingered above his head, just out of reach, the crippling doubt whispering in his ear. But he was good at ignoring it, just like he was good at ignoring the assholes at school who bullied him because he was in the band and the musicals, but wasn’t quite good enough to be anything. 

He was, and would be at least until he graduated, Techno and Wilbur’s kid brother. And he was okay with that, he loved his brothers, the legacies they had were beyond deserved, he didn’t need to be anything, it was fine. But the little voice still lingered in the back of his head, telling him what he already knew. He tried so hard, he needed to prove himself to everyone, but he would just keep pretending he didn’t, it was better that way.

His eyes fluttered back open, time to go home, didn’t feel much like home anymore but that was beside the point; everything was so empty and cold these days. He pulled his tangled earbuds and hand-me-down ipod out of his backpack and put his playlist on shuffle. The noise of honking cars, people talking, and wind whipping through the breeze was dulled into the background. 

All too soon, his feet hit the gray concrete that made up the front steps to their house. He unlocked the door with a soft sigh and kicked off his shoes, leaving them in a pile by the front door. He walked toward the stairs, shifting his backpack so his back wouldn’t die carrying it to his room, when he heard sounds coming from the kitchen. He dropped the bag with a soft thud and turned back toward the other room. 

“Wil?” He asked, stopping his slow movement in surprise. 

“Oh, hey Tommy! I thought that might be you.” His older brother smiled at him from where he leaned against their counter next to the stove that had a pot sitting on a hot burner.

“What are you doing here?” Tommy asked, rooted in the doorway by an awkward tension hanging in the room. Since when did conversations with his brother become this hard? 

“It seems like it’s been forever since I’ve come over for a visit, I wanted to see how my little brother was doing.”

Tommy nodded, still not quite sure how to respond. “Why are you making food?” 

Wilbur rubbed the back of his neck in slight embarrassment and straightened his posture a little. “Phil’s coming home a little later tonight so he asked me to make dinner for you when I told him I was coming over.”

“Oh, okay. Um, thanks.” Tommy said, cringing internally at his weird and choppy answer. “Um, I’m gonna go get started on some of my homework.” He said, pointing in the vague direction of upstairs and turning to take his leave after a moment of awkward hesitation. 

“Okay, I’ll call you when dinner’s done.” Wilbur called after him. 

The stairs creaked as Tommy ran up them, the worn carpet that was only left in the upstairs part of the house scratched his feet. He threw his backpack down by his desk and flopped onto his bed. As much as he wished everyone would stop treating him like a dumb child, growing up sure as hell was tiring. Maybe it wasn’t worth all of the hype after all.

He realized his music was still playing faintly in his ear and he closed his eyes and increased the volume a little. Same night, same humility for those that love you. Anyways, anyways. He let the music wash over him once again and fell into a light sleep.

Tommy’s nap was interrupted by the sound of voices coming from downstairs. He sat up and groaned softly, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. The sound was so different from the normal quiet that filled their house. He yawned and got out of his bed, following the noise out of his room and down the stairs. He ran a tired hand through his messy hair, but stopped just short of the kitchen when he heard his own name being passed in the conversation.

“I worry about him a lot.” Oh, Phil was home, he must’ve slept late. 

“Yeah, I hope he’s not going through too rough of a time.”

The distinct feeling that Tommy was witnessing something he most definitely should not be, hit him at a force that caused slight panic to stir in him. He contemplated turning and quietly making his way back upstairs, but the hunger rumbling in his stomach was enough to make him head into the kitchen, making both of the heads there snap toward him. 

“Oh, hey, Toms. There you are.” Phil smiled at him and Wilbur gestured toward the stove.

“Grab yourself a bowl, the pasta is still warm.” 

Tommy nodded and scooped some of the creme-colored noodles into a bowl before grabbing a seat at the table. He ate quietly, his brain running wild with ways to try and fix the weird feeling that had arrived at the table with him. 

He drug his fork around in his bowl and the slow realization that he may have eaten too fast came creeping in. Now it was time for conversation no one wanted to have and skirting around topics they, probably, should talk about. 

“How was work, Phil?” Tommy asked, moving his hands to his lap. The nagging voice in his head reminded him of how annoying he was being, just in general, but the scrapping metal utensil didn’t help. 

“Not too bad, late shift was awfully tiring, though.” He said, shifting his gaze to his youngest son. “How was your day, Tommy?”

The boy just shrugged and tried not to shrink under the new scrutiny. “Boring. Same as always.”

The heavy silence returned and Tommy clawed at it, desperation making the movement in his head sloppy and rushed. “How are you doing, Wilbur?” He guessed that’d have to do.

The older boy startled, the expression on his face hinted that he had been somewhere far far away from their small little dining table. “Oh, um, things’ve been alright. We got another gig at that bar downtown and Puffy said she’ll give me a bonus if I switch to opening the shop. No one else wants to do it.” He said with a small chuckle. 

Tommy gave his brother a smile that tried not to feel too fake; he was happy for his brother, he really was, but another feeling bled into the happiness, dulling it and making it leave a sour taste in his mouth. Something he just couldn’t, quite, put his finger on. “That’s good, Wil. I’m glad you’re doing good.” Then why did those words feel like a lie.

He grabbed his bowl and stood up, walking over to the sink. “I’m gonna go get some work done.” He said, only half a lie. He placed his bowl down and cringed a little as his fingers grazed the cold metal. He retreated out of the kitchen and back towards the stairs, stopping in the doorframe. “It was, uh, it was nice to see you Wilbur.” Only half a lie. 

~

Some days were shit, absolute shit without any reason, except that maybe penance for some past crime. Tommy trudged out of the band room, his trumpet case hanging like dead weight at his side. He was exhausted, he still couldn’t play his piece right, he had forgotten his lunch at home and hadn’t eaten all day, he had a few bruises to figure out how to hide from Phil, and Tubbo had tech club again. He wasn’t going to collapse on the ground and cry, he wasn’t. He was too old for shit like that anyways. 

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, being careful to avoid the bruise blossoming on his temple. 

“Hey, Tommy!” 

Tommy jumped out of his thoughts and looked up at his best friend who was slightly out of breath and whose thick brown hair was falling into his face. 

“I wanted to catch you before you left, you okay?” 

Confusion clouded Tommy’s face as he processed the question he was being asked. “Uh, yeah, I’m fine, why?” 

Tubbo gestured toward the bruises still changing color on Tommy’s face. “You don’t, exactly look it.”

“I’m fine, I really am. Don’t worry about it.”

“Are you sure Tommy, you have been kinda off lately…” Tubbo trailed off, looking for the right words to say, concern mixing with concentration painting a dark picture on his face.

Tommy sighed and tried to quell the complicated emotions that rocked in the pit of his stomach like a ship lost at sea. “You have somewhere to be now, don’t you?” 

“Tommy—”

“Tubbo, it’s fine.”

The words came out a little harsher than they meant to and the air around the two felt charged, like one wrong move could leave them struck by an invisible lightning bolt. The tension was so thick it would take more than a knife to cut. Tommy wondered when this had happened. When had he ruined the friendship they spent almost nine years building. He felt tears prickle at his eyes and bit down on his lip begging them to go away. He couldn’t lose it, not right now. The voice wondering when he had started making everything go to shit still surrounded his head in a hazy glassy reality.

“I gotta go, have fun. I’ll see you later, Tubbo.” Tommy finally broke the silence and hurried away before he could cry. Before he could make everything even worse than it already was. 

Tommy didn’t get far away from campus before the weight of the world dug a little too hard into his shoulders. He slumped against one of the big brick buildings that littered the city. He couldn’t go home, not now, he wasn’t ready to face everything that meant. Luckily, things seemed to be on his side for once today and he spotted a familiar storefront. 

Bad’s record store seemed to be an incessant piece in Tommy’s life. It had been there since Techno and Wilbur dragged him along with them when he was seven and it seemed like it would be there even after Tommy was long gone, buried beneath the dirt and grass. He pushed open the door and the soft jingle from above the door rattled a little piece of the dam Tommy was trying so hard to keep together to avoid his overbearing emotions. 

“Hey, welcome, let me know if— oh hi Tommy.” 

“Hey Dream.” Tommy answered, giving him a small wave. 

Tommy had always had a weird relationship with the other. He was a year younger than his brothers, and always had a constant rivalry going with Techno that did flips on the tripwire between friendly and cutthroat. He was never mean to Tommy, waving at him in the hallways and complimenting him on his performances before he graduated. He wouldn’t consider them friends, though, mere acquaintances that somehow kept finding ways to appear in the other’s life.

He made his way to the back of the store where all the classics were, the ones that Wilbur listened to, playing them loud enough so the steady beats flowed throughout the house, back when the place wasn’t deathly silent. 

“There’s some new Springsteen ones in the other room.” Dream said, rounding the corner with an empty crate in his hands. 

Surprise flooded through Tommy as he looked up at the other boy. He didn’t quite know how to react, it’d been a while since someone remembered something he liked without any prompting. “Uh, thanks, uh yeah, thanks Dream.” He quickly turned and wandered into the side room, which was closer to the front of the store, thankful for an excuse to get away from the awkward air he had already managed to create. 

He saw the familiar annoyingly bright green of Dream’s signature hoodie move out of the corner of his eye, but he didn’t move in his direction. Tommy went back to flipping through vinyls and enjoying the soft music coming through the speakers in the corners of the store. Eventually, he knew he had to break the spell of comfort that had settled over him and the rest of the empty store. He made his way back toward the door that doubled as the store’s entrance and exit.

“Hey Tommy! I wanted to ask you something real quick.”

Tommy raised an eyebrow at Dream. “Uh, yeah, sure.”

“Do you need a job? We’re kinda low on staff at the minute and Bad said he’d love to have you as long as you pull your weight and don’t swear at the customers.” 

Tommy was knocked off guard for the second time in the last hour. He was being offered a job. At the one place that made him feel safe and made him forget all his problems just for a little bit. “For real? A job? Here?”

Dream nodded an amused but endeared smile on his face. “It’s yours if you want it.” 

“Um, holy shit, uh yeah, yeah, I’d love to.” He ran a hand through his hair, still not entirely believing this was happening. 

“Awesome, come by tomorrow and we can discuss details and all of that.”

“Thanks Dream, really.” 

“It’s no problem, Tommy.” He waved bye to him. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” 

~

Saying yes to Dream’s job offer was probably the best decision Tommy has ever made. Strangely enough, going to work had become the best part of his day. He felt a strange sort of pride when he clipped on the badge that had his name scrawled in Dream’s messy handwriting. Even on the slow afternoons working was fun. He and Dream teased each other while they straightened and organized records, they fought over whose turn it was to put on their playlist, and made bets on the dumbest things they could think of. It was strange for Tommy; the feeling that he got working there, working with Dream. It felt so familiar but so forgein all at the same time. Like a distant memory that was hazy and just out of his reach.

He tried not to think too much about it, to let himself live in the moment instead of ruining it with the confusion and thoughts swirling in his head. He grabbed a rag and wiped the dust off the display in the front of the store before glancing at the clock that hung over the register, his shift ended in five minutes. He stretched his hands over his head and walked back behind the counter. He deposited the rag on a shelf and unpinned his name tag, dropping it in a drawer he would probably forget about and yell at Dream tomorrow because he couldn’t find it. 

“Dream! I’m leaving.” He called, bending down to pick up his backpack that always felt too heavy. 

He heard a muffled ‘bye Tommy’ from the back of the store and he stepped out into the cold December air that made his nose and cheeks turn all red and cause the blood in his fingers and toes to turn to ice. He pulled his jacket closer to his body and clenched his jaw, the faster he got home the faster he would be out of the weather. He’d have to make a mental note to wear another jacket tomorrow. 

The walk home left him freezing and more out of breath than normal. Tommy fumbled with the lock on the front door and deposited his backpack in the front hall, after he finally managed to get his stinging fingers to work, not even bothering to go upstairs. His sights were on the hot chocolate packets in the cabinet over the left counter. He heard voices coming from the living room and felt a strange feeling wander through him at the thought that it was probably Wilbur and Techno. 

Part of him didn’t want to see them. Didn’t want to see them happy without him, didn’t want them to see him happy without them. Was he happy without them? Or was he just trying to distract himself from the realities of it all? He didn’t know. He knew he was making too much noise in the kitchen, with the clanking of his mug against the counter and the loud wiring of the microwave; he still silently hoped his brothers were too immersed in their own world to pay attention to him. Unfortunately, his wish wasn’t granted and he jumped as he turned around and saw Wilbur standing in the doorway. 

“Oh, jesus, Wil, you scared me.”

Wilbur pushed off of the door frame and walked over to his little brother, ruffling his hair like he always did. “You wanna go for a drive?” 

Tommy groaned dramatically, “But I just made my hot chocolate.” 

Wilbur laughed in the loud way he always did when Tommy did something he found amusing. It stirred a weird, sad, nostalgic feeling in Tommy, kind of like when his fingers brushed over a record, at the store, that reminded him of the days laying on Techno’s floor with his head in Wilbur’s lap.

“Fine.” 

Wilbur’s smile widened and he turned back toward the hallway leading to the front door. “Techno! If you don’t hurry up I’m driving your car.” He shouted.

“You are absolutely not.” The older twin said, rounding the corner and snatching his keys from Wilbur. 

His hair was longer than the last time he saw him, Tommy noted. It was also starting to fade from the bright pink he had been dyeing it since he was a teen in effort to get people to stop confusing him and Wilbur. As he did more often than not, Tommy found himself wondering when things had changed so quickly.

He slid into the backseat of Techno’s car and groaned again, the temperature inside it was only just warmer than the winter outside. “Where are we going Wil?”

“You’ll find out when we get there, won’t you.”

Tommy rolled his eyes. “Of course, now you gotta go being all mysterious and shit.” 

“Patience, gremlin child.” 

Techno opened the door and got into the driver's seat, “Are you two fighting already?” He teased. The ignition sputtered slightly— the thing was on its last leg and the cold weather didn’t help— as he turned the key, but it finally came to life and the three brothers were off on their journey.

Tommy watched as the trees and buildings he’d known since Phil adopted him whizzed by. The city they lived in wasn’t huge, but it still felt nice to adventure to areas he didn’t frequent. The drive was abnormally silent, the brothers all, silently, reaching for something they weren’t sure still existed.

The car pulled to a stop in front of a park Tommy had never seen before. There was an open field with a small stream running through it, and in the distance there was a forest with trees touching the sky. 

“C’mon, there’s something we want to show you.” 

Tommy climbed out of the car and the three brothers walked in a line with Tommy in the middle. They headed for the trees and as they got closer Tommy thought he heard the sound of water lapping at a bank. He followed his brothers through the trees, along a small path, that opened onto old, rusted train tracks and a wide river. 

“Oh, wow.” 

Techno and Wilbur smiled at each other. 

“When did you guys find this?” Tommy asked, stepping out onto the tracks. 

“A few weeks ago, I had a rough day at work, so when I got off I went for a drive. This place looked interesting and I was right.” Techno said, stepping up next to Tommy, his eyes no longer on his brothers, but surveying the wide, open terrain. The view from up there made everything feel just slightly unreal.

Tommy shivered slightly and Wilbur noticed out of the corner of his eye. “Aw, is the gremlin child cold?” 

“Hey! I’m not cold.” Tommy said, crossing his arms over his chest, but an involuntary shudder gave him away.

Wilbur laughed and Tommy scowled at him, then, an idea popped into his head. He stood up on his tip toes and snatched the beanie off Wilbur’s head, pushing it on his head and taking off in the opposite direction before Wilbur’s long legs could catch up to him. 

“Hey, get back here! Fuck you, you gremlin child!” 

Tommy laughed as Wilbur chased after him and eventually tackled him to the ground. The two wrestled around in the grass, the reason behind their play fighting already long forgotten. Techno leaned against a tree, a safe distance away from his brothers’ havoc, but a small smile still tugged at his lips. It felt good, normal, to be together like this, cares set to the side for a time, having fun. 

Eventually, the two got tired and layed down in the grass, their eyes looking toward the sky, the setting sun beginning to paint it in beautiful reds and pinks. Techno joined them on the grass and soft conversation filled the quiet air. Tommy smiled and felt himself wishing things could stay like that forever. But, of course, nothing worthwhile lasts long enough. 

“We should probably get going, it’s getting dark and we didn’t exactly tell Phil we were kidnapping Tommy.” 

“Lucky for you guys he probably thinks I’m still at work or something so you won’t get your asses kicked as hard.” The youngest said, brushing the dirt off his pants and hands before they began their trek back to the car. 

Techno stopped and raised a surprised eyebrow at Tommy. “Work?” 

The twin pairs of eyes on him suddenly made him feel small and nervous, but he wasn’t quite sure why. “Uh, yeah, I’m working for Bad now.”

“Doesn’t Dream work there?” Wilbur asked. 

Tommy nodded. “Yeah, I work my shifts with him.” 

Neither brother made any other comments and the expressions on their faces were unreadable. Tommy felt the calm atmosphere of the night shatter and land in shards on the, once again, shifting rug underneath his feet. Life seemed to move past him like the buildings outside the window as Techno drove them back home. Well, the house where he lived, it wasn’t home. Home was drinking Phil’s hot chocolate in the living room, home was the record store, home was laying on the grass with Wilbur and Techno. Home was the warm feeling that spread a smile on his face when Dream or Bad told him he was doing a great job at work. Home wasn’t knowing he was slowly and slowly becoming a throwaway figure in every member of his family’s lives. It wasn’t the fists that were constantly leaving bruises he had to work increasingly harder to hide from Dream and Phil.

Or maybe he didn’t know what home was. Maybe it was the feeling of being lost and alone in the middle of the woods at night. Maybe it was knowing he was unimportant and useless. He didn’t know, he could barely tell up from down anymore. 

They arrived at the house, but Tommy barely registered anything. He was back to being lost in his own head again. His feet took him into the house, his hand waved to Phil, and his mouth made some excuse about wanting to go take a shower. But his brain was running a marathon, yelling at him, dragging him back down to the depths of fear and doubt and sadness and longing. 

He collapsed on his bed and felt tears welling up in the corners of his eyes and he desperately rubbed at his eyes begging them to go away. Why was he crying? Was he really so fucked up he was crying now? Everything was going alright and of course he had to go and fuck it up again. He just wanted everything to be okay. He didn’t want to feel like he was losing it all anymore.

~

It should’ve been too cold to be standing on the roof of an old and abandoned brick building, but Tommy had already decided he didn’t really care. The blood running down his face from the cut on his lip had dried long ago and the cold had started to make the bruises hurt less. He stared out at the city and watched the sun cast a slowly fading golden glow over everything. 

Logically, he should probably go home, get ready to haul the burden of another day onto his shoulders, but something in him had broken. He couldn’t do it anymore, he felt like with one more wrong step he would crumble into pieces he would cut his hands trying to pick up. Holding back the tears felt like the most difficult thing he had ever done, but he had to pull himself back together, he had to stop being a burden on everyone else. Crying wouldn’t solve anything. 

He took a deep breath and scrubbed at his eyes with his sleeves. A breath pushed through his lungs and the cold air made it slightly visible as night time made the temperature drop lower and lower. He walked over to the thick brick ledge and swung his legs over the side and pulled them up to his chest when he was in a sitting position. His chin rested on his knee and he closed his eyes, letting the thoughts swirling around run ramped. 

Was it too much to ask for the past back? Was it too much to ask for his family back? Maybe it was selfish of him, to want to interrupt everyone else’s lives so that he could feel better, but still, he couldn’t help but wish. 

A distant sound from the stairwell startled him out of his thoughts, capturing his attention. He looked up just as a familiar yellow jumper pushed through the door to the roof. 

“Wilbur? What-”

“Oh my god, Tommy.” The younger yelped in surprise as arms wrapped around him; he was suddenly extremely grateful for the thickness of the ledge, he wasn’t a fan of falling off tall buildings. 

“What the hell are you doing here?” He asked, worming his way out of the crushing hug. 

“Oh thank god, you found him.” 

Tommy’s confusion only increased when his eyes landed on the rest of his family, relief painting all of their faces.

“Is anyone gonna tell me what’s going on?”

“We hoped you were going to answer that.”

“You should’ve been home hours ago.” His dad said, moving past Techno to where Wilbur was standing. 

Oh. He guessed he lost track of time running away from his fears. “Don’t worry about me, I’m fi-”

“Bullshit.” An emotion flashed in Techno’s eyes, akin to one that he would wear on the playground when they were kids when Tommy got pushed on the ground and scraped his knee. A fierce protectiveness over his little brother he would deny until the day he died, but was still there regardless. “What happened to your face?” 

Tommy looked down and tried to sift an excuse out of the mess in his head. “Nothing, just some kids from school.” He choked on the I’m fine that he hoped would make everyone satisfied, they wouldn’t believe him anyways, because they cared, right? 

“Tommy, how long has this been happening? Why haven’t you told any of us?” Phil took a step toward him, but Tommy got off the ledge and walked away. 

“It doesn’t matter! Let’s just go home so I can stop wasting your time.” He shoved his hands in his pockets and willed himself to keep the tears down. He couldn’t break down, not now, not like this.

“You’re not,” Wilbur stopped and turned toward his brother. “Tommy, you know we care about you, right?” 

Though he wasn’t the best at all the emotion stuff and normally left that up to the other three members of his family, Techno still walked over to Tommy and placed a hand on his shoulder. His heart clenched at the realization that his little brother would be taller than him in a month or two, when the hell did that happen?

“Tommy, talk to us.”

He tried to hold it in, he really did, but the soft tone that he never heard in Techno’s voice anymore cracked the walls holding everything together. “You’re not gonna forget about me, right Techno?” A small sob slipped out of his mouth and Wilbur had his arms around him again in a second. 

“You’re our little brother, we’re never going to forget about you or leave you, Toms.” Techno said. 

Wilbur ran a hand through Tommy’s hair that was starting to need a cut. 

“I really wish things would stop moving so fast.” Tommy said, through his quiet tears.

“Yeah, you really need to stop growing up so fast.” Phil said, joining the hug and pulling Techno with him. 

Once Tommy’s tears had slowed and his breathing had returned to normal, Wilbur let go of him, just slightly, and looked him in the eyes. “Tommy we love you. No matter what happens we’ll always be here. If you miss us just yell and me and Tech’ll come harass you until you don’t want to see us anymore.”

Tommy cracked a smile at Wil and the weight on his shoulders seemed to loosen a little. 

“You don’t have to tell us everything right now, but we’ll be here when you’re ready.” Phil ruffled his son’s hair and smiled fondly at him. 

Tommy squeezed them all back into the hug and even though his problems still hung behind him like a dark cloud and he didn’t have the power to turn the clock back, things seemed like they were going to get better. He closed his eyes, leaned his head on Wilbur’s shoulder, and whispered into their little hug. “We’ll be okay.”


End file.
